More Than Meets the Eye
by TheShantorian
Summary: "Is something wrong?" Renji asked, his voice soft, as if keeping his voice down would prevent his Captain's mood from souring even further. Byakuya narrowed his eyes at his Lieutenant, and directed his gaze elsewhere before answering. "Have you seen my Zanpakuto?"


It was springtime in the Seireitei, and the cherry trees were in full bloom. Flush pink petals danced in the breeze, the air smelling as sweet as the blossom's nectar. The sun shone brightly, weaving beams of golden light through the branches and leaves of the flourishing foliage. Birds sang cheerily, and cicadas chirped softly. It seemed that the whole of the Soul Society was in a state of pure harmony.

Renji Abarai couldn't help but smile faintly as he watched a squirrel scurry lightly up the side of a tree across from him.

The redheaded Soul Reaper sat against the base of a large, ancient, cherry tree, resting in its shade, watching the nature do its thing. Petals fell around him in a swirl of pink and white. Streaks of shining sunlight fell between the scattered blossoms.

The wind tousled his hair gently, which he'd decided to keep open, instead of tied back into its characteristic ponytail. He exhaled deeply, shutting his eyes as he leaned back into the tree's trunk, his arms tucked behind his head as a pillow.

Renji was simply resting. It was his day off, and he didn't want to waste a moment of it. He didn't feel like joining Rukia and her squad for a day of shopping in the World of the Living, nor did he want to go spend his entire day sparring with Ikkaku. He just wanted to sit back and enjoy the freedom he'd been given.

Everything had been going great for Renji, until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his location.

The faint crunching of standard Soul Reaper sandals against the dry leaves along the ground stirred Renji out of his state of near hibernation. He lazily forced his eyes apart, just as a shadow stepped between him and the sun's warm rays.

He parted his eyes, and yelped in shock.

Standing in front of him was the stern figure of Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Captain!" he shouted.

Renji scrambled to his feet to face his Captain.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" Renji asked, now standing upright.

Byakuya looked particularly unimpressed, and Renji had to fight the urge to flinch in response to his Captain's glare. Byakuya's posture screamed anger and general unhappiness. Renji could only imagine what it was that set Byakuya into such a terrible mood.

Since Byakuya had given no response to his first question, Renji posed another.

"Is something wrong?" Renji asked, his voice soft, as if keeping his voice down would prevent his Captain's mood from souring even further.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes at his Lieutenant, and directed his gaze elsewhere before answering.

"Have you seen my Zanpakuto?"

Renji blinked at the Head of the Kuchiki Clan. "Excuse me?"

Byakuya abruptly turned back to Renji. "My Zanpakuto," said Byakuya, his voice sounding like metal grating against metal, as he gestured to his left hip, where the weapon usually hung, "Senbonzakura. Have you seen it? Or rather," said the Captain through gritted teeth, "did you take it?"

Renji raised his hands in defense. "No, sir!" he stated, "I haven't seen it, and I definitely did not take it. I would never do anything like that, Captain."

On the inside, Renji was laughing like a young school boy. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The Captain had lost his Zanpakuto. Though it was worrisome, Renji was sure that Byakuya was either testing him, or had simply misplaced the thing. There was nobody in the known universe stupid enough to steal a Captain's weapon, let alone _Byakuya's_.

The only thing that really troubled Renji was that Byakuya seemed more irritated than usual. Renji ruled out the thought of being tested, and determined that the Captain must have set his sword down somewhere, and neglected to retrieve it.

_No_, Renji thought_, the Captain isn't like that. He'd never leave that thing lying around, and he'd sure as hell never forget it anywhere._ Renji glanced at his Captain's hip, where there was now an empty space where his Zanpakuto should be. _Someone must have taken it._

"I left Senbonzakura in my quarters for approximately five minutes while I went retrieve a letter opener from the supply room," said Byakuya, now staring at a point off in the distance behind Renji's head, his voice strained with surpressed rage "when I returned, my weapon was gone."

Renji looked down, unable to find anything appropriate to say in response. He brought his head back up and opened his mouth to speak, but Byakuya did not give him the chance to.

"Find it," said the Captain of Squad Six.

"Sir-" Renji started, but once again, Byakuya would not let him speak.

"Find my blade or I will find a new Lieutenant." With that, Byakuya turned on his heel, and Flash Stepped away before Renji could even blink.

* * *

Renji didn't know where to begin looking for his Captain's sword.

_What kind of idiot determined that it would be a good idea to take his Zanpakuto in the first place?_ Renji thought as he pulled his hair into ponytail at the crown of his head. He grunted disgruntledly as he weaved his way through the many pathways of the Seireitei, trying to get to a location he hadn't decided upon yet. He was distraught and irritated, and beginning to lose hope, when he was nearly knocked over by the force of another Soul Reaper pushing past him.

"Hey!" Renji exclaimed as he slammed into a wall, "watch where you're-"

Renji noticed the Soul Reaper's short, blond hair flapping violently as he sprinted, and realized that it was Izuru Kira who'd just shoved him aside.

"Izuru!" Renji yelled, working himself into a jog. He wouldn't catch up to Izuru at this rate, but he hoped the Lieutenant of Squad Three would slow down in response to his call. "Wait up!"

Izuru stopped at the end of the long corridor he'd just run through. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and he absently wiped it away. He put his long fingered hands on his hips, trying not to pant too hard, as he watched Renji Abarai approach him.

"What's up?" Renji asked, his tattooed brows drawing close in concern. "What's got you sprinting through the Seireitei?"

Izuru looked away from Renji, embarrassment creeping upon his features. "Rangiku," he said softly. "It was her."

Renji looked taken aback. "Matsumoto? What'd she do?" he asked, attempting to hide the concern in his voice. But, after a moment more of consideration, a devilish smile took over Renji's lips. "What were you doing with Rangiku?" he asked, playfully elbowing Izuru in the arm.

Izuru laughed nervously, waving away Renji's assumption. "Oh, nothing like that," he said, scratching the back of his head, "She was just finding a place to hide s-"

Izuru stopped himself, his eyes the size of dinner plates. He clapped his hands over his mouth, as he blinked blankly at Renji.

Renji's eyes became slits, scrutinizing Izuru in accusation. "_What_ was she hiding?" he said, his voice a grating purr.

"I've said too much," said Izuru. With that same terrified look on his face, he barked a faint, "My apologies, Renji!" and Flash Stepped away before Renji could grab a hold of him.

"Damn it!" Renji cursed, pounding his fist against the nearby wall.

He leaned his forehead against the cool stone, thoughts swirling through his mind like the cherry blossom petals in the wind.

_So, Rangiku has it. She's got to have it,_ he thought, pocketing his hands in his Shihakusho. _What the hell could she possibly want with the Captain's Zanpakuto?_

* * *

Izuru Kira dashed through the streets of the Seireitei, his blond hair flapping about his face in a tangled mess. Sweat was nearly pouring off of his face; his eyes were huge in shock and fear.

_Why did I agree to do this?_ he asked himself as he skidded around a corner, nearly slamming into the stone structure.

He didn't like lying to Renji, or anyone else for that matter, but Rangiku… She could be rather persuasive when she needed to be. He winced as he remembered the morning's events, scolding himself enough for three people.

He didn't want to get involved with Rangiku and her wild ideas, but it wasn't just her that was in on this. Not to mention that she didn't exactly leave him with any room to refuse her. He blinked as the memories of the morning resurfaced once more, shaking his head to clear the sound of her voice, her plan, the way she grabbed him by the collar and shook him until he agreed. It wasn't entirely a bad idea, but her methods could be rather extreme, and Izuru didn't particularly like anything to be extreme.

Upset with himself, Izuru, sped around a group of dawdling Soul Reapers, granting various outbursts of anger and confusion from the bunch. He shouted back several apologies and continued to move through the network of stone hallways.

Izuru bit his lip, attempting to focus on the pain in hopes of calming himself down. He took a deep breath, feeling the breeze whip about his face, and remembered why he was running in the first place.

_I need to find Shuhei_, he thought, _I need to find him before Renji does._

* * *

Renji continued to wander aimlessly about the Seireitei for an extra hour after he'd given up on finding Rangiku. He'd searched all the barracks, asked every Soul Reaper he'd come across if they'd seen her; he'd done everything he possibly could. He even went as far as weeding out Captain Hitsugaya, who wasn't much help either, saying that he couldn't care less if his Lieutenant was out trying to put herself into tricky situations.

That was another thing that borthered Renji: that nobody else in the Seireitei seemed to care that one of the _Captains_ was missing their Zanpakuto. Why weren't alarms ringing? Why weren't search parties being called upon? What had gotten into everyone?

Renji was about to give up all together and head home to write up his resignation letter, when Shuhei Hisagi jogged up to Renji from around a corner.

"Renji!" called Shuhei, his spiky, coffee colored hair bouncing about his face with each of his light steps.

The pair came to a halt at a four way intersection that was sparse with other Soul Reapers.

"Hey," Renji said, making no attempt to hide his obviously foul mood.

Shuhei put his hands on his hips. "I heard about your Captain's Zanpakuto," he said, trying to make eye contact with Renji, whose gaze was fixated on a pebble on the ground.

Renji turned back to Shuhei, his face devoid of emotion, his voice no different. "I know who's got it, but I can't find them anywhere," he said, absently dropping his left hand to the hilt of his own Zanpakuto.

"Who's got the sword?" asked Shuhei, obviously concerned for Renji, "I'll help you hunt them down," he said with an impish grin.

Renji shook his head, but answered anyway. "Rangiku's got it, but…"

His voice trailed off as he noticed the slim figure of Izuru Kira standing at the end of the pathway behind Shuhei. Izuru seemed to notice that Renji had seen him, and Flash Stepped out of view before Renji could call out.

"Izuru," he said, focusing back on Shuhei, "He's the one who mentioned that Rangiku was trying to hide something earlier. He ran away before I could question him any further. He was just there," he pointed out, gesturing over Shuhei's shoulder, "but he ran again."

"Renji, you idiot," Shuhei said, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips, "You're a Soul Reaper too, you know, and not just any Soul Reaper at that. You're the Lieutenant of Squad Six. You could chase him just as fast as he can run." Shuhei turned and looked down the street where Izuru had been. "Come on," he said, glancing at Renji, "If we start now, we can catch up to him." Without another word, Shuhei vaulted into the air, and then began using Flash Step to travel along the tops of the walls and roofs.

_Crap,_ Renji thought as he leapt up onto a nearby roof, _I better not lose my position for all this nonsense._

* * *

Izuru Kira had run into a fork in the road. He looked around, and ended up doing a double take.

There were two paths in front of him: one leading left and one leading right. The left pathway branched off into many other streets and alleyways, giving Izuru plenty of opportunities to look for Shuhei. However, once he turned to the right, he realized that he'd failed the task Rangiku had given him.

Standing at the end of the right hand path, in the centre of an intersection of four roads, was Shuhei Hisagi, and Renji Abarai.

Izuru said a few very impolite words, and ran a hand through his sweat-soaked hair. At that precise moment, he noticed Renji's head tilt in his direction.

_Oh no,_ he thought, _I've been seen. _

Izuru hastily broke into a Flash Step, heading in towards the place where he'd last seen Rangiku.

If Izuru knew anything about Shuhei, it was that he'd pursue Izuru as he tried to run away.

_Well, I didn't get to Shuhei on time, but I did accomplish the other half of her instructions, _thought Izuru as he hopped to another rooftop. _She shouldn't be too upset about this._

* * *

Renji Abarai and Shuhei Hisagi Flash Stepped all over the Seireitei, chasing the skinny, blond Lieutenant Izuru Kira to an unknown destination.

The pair said nothing as they made their way over the Squad Four Barracks, and then the Department of Research and Development. Izuru was not very far ahead of the duo, and they could have easily caught up to him with a slight burst of speed. However, via an unspoken agreement, the two Lieutenants determined that it would be wiser to follow Izuru and see where Captain Kuchiki's Zanpakuto was being held, rather than stopping the man and scaring him into silence.

After a few more moments of roof jumping, Renji and Shuhei realized that they were being led to the Squad Six Barracks.

_That's odd_, Renji thought.

"What's odd?" asked Shuhei.

Renji and Shuhei stopped abruptly on a rooftop overlooking the entrance of the Barracks. Izuru had jumped ahead and passed through the front door.

Renji let out an awkward laugh. "I didn't realize I said that out loud," he said as he paused to stare down at the Barracks, as if he would find a solution to his problem by doing so, "I searched every inch of these Barracks myself. This was the first place I'd looked. Huh." He turned to look at Shuhei, who was adjusting one of the bands on his arms, "It seems like the stupidest place to hide it. I mean, it's the Zanpakuto of the Captain of Squad Six. The most obvious place to put it would be-"

"-In the Squad Six Barracks," Shuhei finished for Renji, "Yeah, that makes sense and all, but what if the sword isn't here?"

Renji furrowed his brow. "What are you saying?"

"What if Izuru was told to stand back there at the intersection and lure us out here?" questioned Shuhei.

Renji thought about this for a moment. Shuhei did have a point, and that could very well have been the case, but something didn't fit.

"No," Renji said, "His reaction was far too genuine. It was like he was caught looking for something, like he wasn't supposed to be seen. I think…" Renji said, making eye contact with Shuhei, "I think he might've been looking for you."

Shuhei put his hands on his hips once more, and dipped his head back, looking up into the sky. "Huh," he said, bringing his face back to eye level, "you could be right."

The two Soul Reapers stood in silence for a moment.

"I think you should go in," Renji said, rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand.

"What?" Shuhei asked, his eyes narrowing in question.

"I think they wanted to talk to you. You should go in, talk to them, then come back out here and tell me what exactly is going on. I need that Zanpakuto back, or Captain Kuchiki is going to do something much worse than just have me demoted," Renji pleaded.

Shuhei considered his friend's request, carefully thinking about all the variables and things that could go wrong. After another moment of consideration, he finally agreed.

"If I'm not out in ten minutes, come in and find me. I don't think they're expecting you," Shuhei said.

Renji nodded, "Understood. See you in a few."

The pair nodded their heads, and Shuhei leaped off the roof. The dark haired Lieutenant Flash Stepped to the door, and entered without hesitation.

Seeing no reason to continue standing idly, Renji simply sat down atop the roof, waiting for ten minutes to pass.

* * *

When Shuhei Hisagi stepped into the threshold of the Squad Six Barracks, he at least expected the lights to be on. Instead, after shutting the door, he was met with pitch blackness. The Lieutenant of Squad Nine squared his shoulders, his hand dropping to the hilt of his sword, as he progressed further into the Barracks.

_These are the lengths that they're going to in order to hide a stolen Zanpakuto?_ Shuhei thought. _The consequences for committing a crime like this are suicidal. Why would anyone do something this stupid? _Shuhei shook his head to clear it of his thoughts just as he approached a particularly dark area of the hallway he was in.

At the end of said hallway, he heard a voice.

"Shuhei?"

He turned towards the sound, and was greeted by the unsettling image of Izuru Kira's face, hauntingly illuminated by the pale glow from a lantern.

"Izuru?" said Shuhei, "What the hell are you doing in here? And why are the lights off?" He addressed Izuru's visage, "What's with the ominous mood lighting?"

Izuru smiled apologetically, ducking his head slightly in embarrassment. "I'll explain everything," he said, beckoning Shuhei to follow him, "but, where is Lieutenant Abarai?"

"Not here," replied Shuhei, his voice cold. He didn't like this one bit. Izuru was acting far too shady for it to be normal. With the absence of light, the secrecy, the questions, it was like someone was planning an assassination. Shuhei swallowed his unease in a glob of saliva. "Why?"

Izuru smiled again, which did nothing to ease Shuhei's doubts. "No reason," the blond Soul Reaper said, motioning with his hand for Shuhei to follow him, "Come this way please, Lieutenant."

* * *

Those ten minutes Renji sat waiting dragged on much too slowly for his taste. Sighing heavily, he heaved himself off the clay tiled roof and onto the stone pathway below. He walked up to the practically deserted Barracks, a sense of unease pooling in his stomach. He fought the urge to burst in, sword drawn, yelling battle cries, in order to scare Rangiku into coughing up the missing Zanpakuto. Instead, he rested his hand on Zabimaru's hilt, and entered the Barracks calmly.

It was dark. That alone was enough to put Renji on edge, even more so than he already was.

The lights were off, the hallways and shut doors were bathed in a darkness so thick that Renji felt that if he tried to, he'd be able to grab some of it and make it into a cape. It was eerily silent, with not even a creak to be heard. Natural noises from the outside, like the bird's songs, were shut out of the Barracks by the large doors and heavy walls. Renji took a deep breath to calm himself, and proceeded onward.

He reached the end of the hallway without a single problem, and he took that as a good sign. He knew that there was a set of double doors in front of him that led to the Squad Six meeting room, where Byakuya would brief the seated members of Squad Six on missions and news in the Soul Society. Since the door was right in front of him, Renji decided to head inside.

Ever so slowly, Renji extended his free arm, and took hold of the door's handle. Breathing heavily, he pulled the door open.

Lights flared.

There was shouting.

Renji suddenly became very aware of the fact that he was being hugged by five different people at once.

The crimson haired Soul Reaper took a moment to take stock of his situation.

The meeting room, once filled with a set of chairs for about two hundred Soul Reapers, was cleared out. In place of this were a few tables overflowing with food and drinks, streamers hung around the walls, and balloons drifting aimlessly about the place. It was noisy with the sound of many voices, and there was upbeat music playing in the background. There was a large banner at the back of the room that read 'THANK YOU RENJI' in curly, red letters that could have only been painted by Rukia. Her signature Chappy Bunny was littered all over the banner.

Renji felt heat flood to his face, and he looked at the people who were clinging to him. Rukia had her arms around his waist, and Izuru and Shuhei each had an arm around his shoulders. They all smiled at him and offered him various foods and drinks. He was too confused and overwhelmed to accept or decline anything. He could only faintly mumble, "What's all this for?" over and over again, a question that remained unanswered until he was shuffled forward, through the throng of people, to Rangiku Matsumoto.

When she noticed Renji standing in front of her, the slightly intoxicated Lieutenant of Squad Ten, yelled his name out, discarded her bottle of sake, and tossed her arms around his neck. Renji shied away, shouting and trying to pull the woman off him, but only succeeded in making himself laugh with pure confusion.

When Rangiku finally released him, he asked, "What… Why? Where's the Zanpakuto?"

Rangiku laughed a loud and boisterous laugh, one that made her voluminous, wavy hair shake with every chuckle. "It was never stolen," she said, retrieving her bottle of alcohol from where she'd thrown it.

"But-" Renji protested in dismay. What did she mean by it was never stolen?

"Listen," she said, setting a hand on his shoulder in a bad attempt to seem serious. Her eyes were glassy and her face was flush from the alcohol, "We'd wanted to throw you a party for a while now. You're t_oooo_ uptight, Renji, and what better day to throw you a party than on your day off?" Rangiku smiled lopsidedly at Renji.

She righted her posture, and for a moment, she looked completely sober, but when she started speaking again, it was obvious that she was the farthest possible thing from being so. "I spoke to Captain Kuchiki and told him that a large number of the Lieutenants wanted to throw you a 'Renji-Appreciation' party. He was on board with it, as long as we didn't disturb him too much," she stopped speaking to giggle childishly, which worried Renji only slightly, "So, we had to make sure you stayed away from the Barracks all day, so I told Captain Hitsugaya to tell Byakuya to tell _you_ that he lost his Zanpakuto," she smiled proudly at him as she slung an arm around his shoulder.

Renji blushed a shade almost as red as his hair when he became painfully aware of the fact that Rangiku's chest was rubbing against his arm. "That's why he seemed like such a sour puss this morning," she pouted, which was probably some kind of an apology.

Renji merely nodded in understanding. "He _reeaalllly_ didn't wanna do it, but Captain Hitsugaya told him to, so he did," she beamed, probably proud of her negotiation skills. "Annnyyway, I needed help with the decorations and stuff, so I went looking for Shuhei since he's good with these things, but I couldn't find him. Afterwards, I sent Izuru to look for him and send him to me, and to keep you away from the Barracks. It looks like my plan worked out just right," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. Renji blushed even redder, and laughed nervously, before deciding that he needed to get the woman off him or he'd embarrass himself.

"Well, it's a relief to know that my Captain isn't missing his Zapakuto," Renji said, "but why did you-"

"Want to throw you a party?" asked Rangiku as she bit into a cheese topped cracker. "Because you do a lot for all of us, believe it or not," she explained.

Renji blinked in awe, his face still flush, his lips slightly parted in question.

"We just wanted to thank you for everything you do, that's all. I mean, and we kinda wanted an excuse to throw a party, but it's good that it's for you, too," she said as she smiled. Her smile was genuine this time, not the façade of a drunken Lieutenant.

Renji smiled back, and looked over all the smiling faces of his friends in the room. _They went through all this trouble for _me_, _he thought. As he saw his Captain standing next to Rukia at the back of the room, he thought, _Even Byakuya cared enough for this? Huh._

Renji's smile grew wider.

_I am one hell of a lucky guy_.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I do not own Bleach, copyright stuff, yada yada. I really do appreciate all reviews, so if you could take a second to do so, it would mean the world to me, and once again, thanks for reading!

-Shan


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